Jane Groenewegen

Is there an overall plan not just to repair what is there now, perhaps, but to look at additional parking out there as well? Now, I know a while back we put contractor parking in over here and so on, but it’s still disappointing to me in some ways that if we ever do have an event here…. We try to encourage the public to participate in activities that go on in this building. It is the people’s building, and it is always disappointing to me that the parking around this building becomes such an issue when there’s any event.

Now, I know there was an intention to try to preserve the integrity of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe the wish of the committee is to continue on today with the capital acquisition document. I believe we’ll start off with the Legislative Assembly and then resume where we were on the list yesterday. I believe we’re going to ECE next.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if she is aware of a rating system that rates all hospitals in Canada. If she is, could she tell us where the U of A sits on that rating? I think they sit at the top.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has referred to the replacement of the schools in Inuvik, and I do not dispute that schools in Inuvik need to be replaced. You know, the Premier said they have been on the books since he was elected 13 years ago. Well, the problems in Diamond Jenness have been around as long as I have been here as well.

I would like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services: what is the priority of this government — the comfort of government employees or an environment that is good for the educating of our children?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are about capital projects in the Northwest Territories.

I believe that when we are considering the priority placed on capital projects, the highest priority is the protection of people. To that end, I have been trying to get tabled in this House, or given to me or given to the education authority in Hay River, the air quality reports that were done at Diamond Jenness after it was discovered that asbestos was in there.

I have been told that perhaps I am asking for the wrong report. Maybe it’s not air quality I should be looking for; it should be the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d appreciate that.

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. There’s been a precedent set in some communities that when a facility like a school is being built, where there is community interest, additional things can be added into that. I’d be interested in seeing what the terms of reference were for the consultant that was hired to do the program review and if I could get a copy of that.

Also, I’d like to know if any other — since we’re delayed anyway — community groups would have been consulted. I mentioned a trades centre. There may be also some interest in a daycare centre being built in the school; that was something that was...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ve been asking questions about the Diamond Jenness Secondary School renovation. I’ve been told that it was pushed back because they’re doing a program review to ensure they have the right configuration and enough space and so on, probably to address numerous issues.

One of the programs in the school that there’s been a lot of uptake on and a lot of interest in has been the pre-trades shop area. A while back there was a committee formed in Hay River to look at developing some kind of a trade training centre for Hay River.

My question is: can I get a bit more detail on...

I just want to say that I know there are a lot of pressures on our capital budget and there are priorities. I don’t want to make it sound like we’re thinking that the needs of the Legislative Assembly are greater than other people’s, but literally, there is such a dip in that driveway out there that I scold my daughter when she’s picking me up, because she bottoms out our little car there in that hole. It scares me. It scrapes right on the bottom.

When the Speaker refers to this proposal being turned down at the authority level, just to be clear, is he talking about a committee of deputy...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I had inquired previously, working in this building it’s hard not to notice the deteriorating condition, really, of the circle drive here and the walkways. I know there’s been a lot of money invested in those areas over the years, but it seems like they are forever sinking away. I was just wondering if it’s not to the point where some kind of almost emergency or immediate action is required to prevent the asphalt from getting worse. I’m curious about any future planned allocations in the Capital Budget for addressing the driveways and parking areas for the Legislative...